Meet the Peer Support Team!

I am one of the hospitalists at Burnaby Hospital and have been with the program since 2019. I graduated in 2017 from a three-year family medicine residency, the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria, USA. I have been a peer supporter since fall 2022. I am passionate about being a peer supporter because it allows me to leverage my lived experience with mental illness to provide support to a struggling colleague. I strongly believe in the power of storytelling as a way to destigmatize mental illness and make it okay to not be okay.  I am also passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion and believe that the intersection of an individual’s unique identities shapes their experience of life in society. I bring my own unique background as a young woman of Indian descent and from a Muslim background to my work as a peer supporter. A fun fact about me is that I am a huge Kpop fan! (BTS is my bias!). 

I am one of the newer general surgeons at Burnaby Hospital. I came to BC from Toronto after finishing my fellowship in 2019 and did locums in all four health authorities before finding my home in Burnaby in 2022. I’ve embraced the BC life and taken up skiing, backpacking, surfing, Arctery’x and Blundstones. It’s all about balance!

My residency training was at McMaster where there was a strong culture of peer support. Without it, I likely would not have survived the long and grueling hours while dealing with all that life has to throw at you. Although early in my career, I have seen some of the unique challenges we deal with as surgeons and know that it can be isolating and tough to reach out for help. It is because of this that I am driven to be a peer supporter for our surgical group and anyone who wants to chat. I hope to complete my peer supporter training within the next year.

I also feel incredibly fortunate to be working at a site where people are already so collegial and supportive of each other. This is what makes Burnaby special, and like most good things in life, it requires effort to maintain.

I have practiced emergency medicine for over 25 years mostly at Burnaby but earlier at St. Paul’s Hospital. Occasional rural locums have allowed me to get to know BC outside the lower mainland. I have a soft spot for Texada Island and Salmon Arm! I love hiking, canoeing, and any music but country! I took a lot of piano lessons but married a man who plays without trying, so I have music in my life every day. I also practice Spanish with my Mexican/Chinese in-laws and find any excuse to travel to Chicago where my daughter is studying. The close relationships at Burnaby Hospital and Burnaby Emergency group has given me much support and I am available to any colleague who needs to speak with someone who understands our needs and current reality.

I’m Jack Jay, a hospitalist at Burnaby Hospital since 2001. I’m family practise trained from UBC and qualified in 1990.

I’ve been a peer supporter since 2022. Please feel free to contact me if you want to talk.

My hobbies include running, cycling, pickleball and grouse grind. Fun fact: I’m a 12 time marathon finisher.

My name is Cristian Vadeanu and it is a privilege to join the team at the Burnaby Hospital ED as a newly graduated Emergency Physician. During my 5 year residency in Edmonton at the University of Alberta(far too long!), I have come to understand the inherent challenges prevalent in practicing medicine and the importance of sticking together as a team to overcome these hardships and ultimately provide the best care possible to our patients. Beyond my clinical interests, it is my ultimate mission to be a kind, understanding and supportive colleague and thus I immediately became interested in the peer support program when it was suggested to me. It’s a blessing to be invited to join this team as a new peer supporter and couldn’t be more enthused to connect with the Burnaby healthcare team!

Fun facts about me- having grown up in the Lower Mainland, I’m in love with anything outdoors- hiking, climbing, mountain biking and spending the winters on the ski hill. During rainy days, I love to spend time with my partner in crime (newly weds!) and our cat Luna. I can play some awesome licks on a guitar and can stir up some pretty mean cocktails (am formerly a flair bartender). Very much looking forward to connecting with all of you in Burnaby!

My name is Anna and I am an Emergency Physician. I am about a decade into practice and have been at Burnaby for the last 4 years.

Whether informal or formal, I am a believer in the peer support. I have personally benefited from peer support and I think the culture that encourages doctors to be infallible is ready for change. I would like to be part of a shift that allows us to show vulnerability to rise above challenges and setbacks, building resilience with the support of the ones who can best understand us and relate, our colleagues and fellow physicians.

I have an interest in supporting locum physicians, physicians dealing with adverse events or medical errors and physician health – specifically, when physicians themselves become patients.

About me, I love adventure and time in nature – snowy days in the mountains ski touring and windy days on the water kitesurfing. I look forward to connecting with you!

I am one of the Emerg docs at Burnaby and will be working as an Addictions consultant here starting September. I graduated from UBC Family Medicine in 2021 and completed an enhanced training year in Emergency Medicine. I am currently in the last few months of my Addiction Medicine fellowship. This is my first year as a peer supporter. Like many of us, I believe that is vital to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and addictions for physicians. I want to ensure that Burnaby Hospital remains a supportive and inclusive environment for everyone. As a peer supporter, I intend to always lend an empathetic ear to my colleagues and help them access the resources that they need to overcome their challenges. Fun fact about me – I am an avid amateur photographer and love to chat about anything related to photography!

I am an emergency physician at Burnaby Hospital and have worked here since 2005. I grew up in East Vancouver and went to medical school/residency at the University of Western Ontario. I am passionate about helping patients and helping providers care for their patients. I have been involved in various administration roles over the last 10 years and am currently an Executive Medical Director with Fraser Health. I have been a formal peer supporter for under 1 year, though in many ways I believe I have been trying to support my peers throughout my career. A fun fact about me is that I love the TV show Arrested Development.

I am a psychiatrist at Burnaby Hospital and have been with the hospital since 2014. I graduated just before that from UBC, completing both medical school and residency locally. I have been involved in the peer support program since 2022. I decided to join due to the abundance of studies linking healthcare with increased burnout and loneliness. I have also seen first hand the effects that the pandemic and now significant staffing shortages have had on our medical staff. I know that our field can get through these difficult time and hope we get out stronger. I also enjoy reading for pleasure and hiking.

During the pandemic, our Hospitalist Program managed most of the admitted Covid-19 patients, and this was extremely stressful and disheartening at times. Furthermore, I was dealing with a family illness and death. And yet, during that crazy time, I found myself reluctant to reach out for help from my colleagues. However, after connecting with others, I was pleasantly surprised that many people were so willing to help me. And after receiving support, my life situation felt better.

As the former BHMSA Communications Chairperson and former BHMSA Wellness Chairperson, I have organized and participated in peer support training from Dr. Elizabeth Froese and Dr. Anne McNamara, as well as Dr. Connie Ruffo and Geoff Ayi-Bonte.

I have had the privilege of providing (and receiving) peer support at Burnaby Hospital over the past years, and I am happy to continue connecting with my awesome and talented colleagues here!

I am a Burnaby Hospitalist. I graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland in 1984. I worked in rural Manitoba from 1991 to 2000, Winnipeg for 4 years and Vancouver since then.
More importantly I have been married (to the same long-suffering lady) for 37 years. We have four children ranging in age from 34 to 27.
My undergraduate and postgraduate training was based on the work-first life-second principle but I am recovering. I think the Peer Support Program is wonderful and much needed. I am impressed with the enthusiasm and dedication of its members. I hope that my personal work experience of recurrent burnout gives me some insights that might help me to help others.

Hi my name is Ada Lo and I am a hospitalist at Burnaby hospital. I grew up in Port Coquitlam BC and studied at UBC Medical school and finished my family residency in the Surrey Fraser program.

I have been a peer supporter since Oct 2022 and I have really enjoyed being able to support my peers by listening and offering emotional support. Fun fact about me is I am born in Macau which used to be Portuguese colony so some may even say I am European as well as Asian!

Dr. Christopher Wu completed his Medical School at the University of British Columbia and his Urology Residency at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He then completed Fellowship training in Male Reproductive Medicine and Andrology at the University of Toronto under the auspices of Drs. Keith Jarvi, Kirk Lo, and Ethan Grober, with a special focus on urological microsurgery and penile reconstruction procedures.
He practices general adult and pediatric urology in the Fraser Health Authority. He is based out of Burnaby Hospital but also works at the Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody as well as the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. His areas of interest include Male Infertility, Andrology, as well as Minimally Invasive urologic procedures.

I am Joelle Bradley, a long-time hospitalist physician locuming at the Burnaby and Royal Columbian Hospitals. Born and trained in Calgary, I have an easy 6-minute commute to Burnaby Hospital. I live with my husband and Hava-shihtz dog, Mae. Work-wise, I love hospitalist medicine, and have pursued several passions in the last 10 years pertaining to physician wellness normalization, Advance Care Planning promotion/education and I rotate in as a host of a podcast, “Behind the Stethoscope”. Outside the hospital I love to bake fancy celebratory things like layer cakes, French macarons and artisan pizzas. My newer, less calorically dense pastime is growing my collection of green things from houseplants, through to super miniature bonsai – though next time you see me, ask me if the super miniature bonsai are still alive! Friends describe me as a nice baker, gardener and listener. I am delighted to be a Burnaby Hospital Peer Supporter and a part of the general Burnaby medical staff.